Ashrae (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers) has developed a new energy efficiency standard for low-rise residential buildings in Kuwait.

Newly-elected Ashrae president Tim Wentz said that the organisation was making a tangible difference in the Middle East during a recent visit to the region where he met with the UAE and Kuwait chapters.

He added that the Kuwait chapter had worked with the Kuwait Government to develop a new Ashrae energy-efficiency standard for low-rise residential buildings.

“I’m very proud of that,” he said. “We worked with the Kuwait government to adapt one of our standards – Ashrae 92.0 – for Kuwait; so now the country can use that as their residential code. So now we publish Ashrae92.0 - Kuwait.

"We are trying to expand that process to other countries in the region, mentioning Lebanon, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in particular."